Consumers should challenge bottle law

How disappointed I was to discover how the state has implemented the bottle law. In theory, it is a fine idea, but our state officials have turned it into a proverbial cash cow rather than the true recycling program that it should be.

Please allow me to explain how our bottle law ultimately led to a financial windfall for the state. The redemption center nearest to where I live is only open from 9 to noon, Tuesday through Saturday. Since I work, that only leaves me Saturday morning to have any chance to redeem my beverage containers. Since most everyone else in my community is in the same situation, that means that hundreds of people will be attempting to return cans and bottles at the same time, leading to long lines and long waits. In frustration, many individuals will choose to simply throw away their containers.

This is where the state profits. If you pay a deposit of 5 cents for each can and bottle that you purchase and then fail to redeem the deposit, the state keeps that money.

It is my opinion that the state set up the program this way purposely to discourage redemption. That way any deposit monies that aren't returned to consumers amount to revenue. That is not a recycling program, that is a tax.

This bottle law was never about protecting the 'aina but merely a chance for the state to implement a new tax under the guise of recycling. Consumers should not stand for this and demand the repeal of the bottle law immediately.

Mini vehicles are not a viable solution

I'd like to weigh in on Warren Kawamoto's suggestion for mini commuter vehicles (Letters, Jan. 7). The only solution to traffic congestion is to get people out of their cars and into viable public transportation, such as rail.

I commute daily from Kapolei to Kaka'ako. If you want me to use public transportation, give me a viable option. I won't ride the bus because if I have to sit in traffic, I would prefer to sit in my own car. I would gladly ride a rail system that would take me into town, bypassing all the traffic — that is what I call an incentive.

I'm tired of hearing all the talk about solving the congestion on O'ahu. I want concrete action.

Just imagine if we had gone ahead with the rail proposal over 10 years ago — that system would be in place now.

The new legislative session is about to begin. I challenge state and city officials: Give me a solution now. The time for talk is over. We've been talking about this for over a decade now. Do something about it.

Competing with pros beneficial for Wie

I respectfully disagree with Tiger Woods' opinion that it would be more beneficial for Michelle Wie to be playing more tournaments with her peers. I agree with Mr. Woods that there is an art form in learning how to win, but there are different levels of art needed to win at each level.

There were many golfers who learned to dominate the junior or amateur ranks and never learned how to compete successfully on the professional level. Remember Laura Baugh?

I believe that in order to get better at any endeavor, you need to be exposed to and compete with people who are better or at least as good as you are. The Wahine volleyball team hasn't won the national championship since joining the WAC. Many people believe, as do I, that the lack of competition in the WAC has hurt them in the NCAA tournaments.

Michelle Wie has won a national adult USGA tournament, had two top-10 and another top-20 finish in professional major tournaments, and she made the cut in every women's tournament she entered last year, so any controversy about whether she should be competing with adults or juniors should be over.

Eight people answered call for tsunami relief

We are a humanitarian relief agency, and on Jan. 2 we made an urgent appeal in five churches to send an emergency team to South Asia. The response was better than expected.

Exactly one week after the appeal was made, we had eight people, including firefighters, an emergency room physician, paramedics and nurses on Korean Air on the way to Sri Lanka. Passports, shots and travel documents were done at great speed.

A special aloha to the traveling volunteers, who paid their own expenses, and all those who helped in getting this accomplished, and especially a mahalo to Korean Air, which cut the fare by 50 percent. That is what we call the aloha spirit.

'Return with gladness, good for evil done'

I appreciate the comments expressed by Les Sponsel in his Dec. 26 letter ("Anti-Muslim feelings in survey immoral"). We should raise our children to understand that just as the people of the world speak different languages, they worship God differently, and they have different ways of governing themselves. We have a right to be proud of our own country, yet that does not mean that we must condemn everything that is different from us.

The Bush government would do well to remember the words often spoken by Gandhi: "And return with gladness, good for evil done." If Bush wants to win in Iraq, and in the rest of the world, he'll start by using a compassionate approach with the POWs under our care. President Bush may have gone to Yale, but it is apparent that he never read "The Fixer."

We need to spend a little more time on homeland hospitality and a neighborly attitude toward our foreign friends and foes. Then, we won't have to worry about homeland security.

Hike is one of life's great experiences

Amen to the Advertiser's Jan. 12 editorial "Ha'iku Stairs debate needs fast resolution." When I turned 25, I listed my 12 most memorable experiences in a journal. (I know it's a little anal.) Although I'd spent only a total of five weeks on O'ahu, two of my top 12 memories grew out of brief visits to my mother there. Many events have been bumped off the list as 21 eventful years have slipped by, but these two remain: being completely surrounded by a school of manini beyond the reef at Hanauma Bay and the Ha'iku climb.

Weekly, I log on to various Web sites hoping against hope to see some progress that would allow me to (legally) repeat the Ha'iku climb with my children before I die. We were excited when the stairs were reconditioned, but have been discouraged by the pace of progress since.

Surely there is some group, someone who can find solutions. We will wait on any list, sign any waiver, park anywhere you want or ride a shuttle (or quietly walk) to the trailhead and respect all boundaries. And we promise to take nothing but the best memories and leave nothing but cash and a very happy tutu.

Declare your intention

Regarding turn signals: They work better when they are used to say "I am planning to ..." rather than "I am ... "